Batteries - Household - Single-Use
Primary/Single-Use batteries cannot be recharged and must be disposed of once they wear out. Alkaline, lithium, silver oxide, zinc-air, zinc-carbon, and zinc-chloride are all types of primary batteries.
Household Hazardous Waste
This item should never be put in a curbside bin. For more information visit our household hazardous waste page.
Use the BatteryNetwork (formerly Call2Recycle) Battery Drop-off Location Finder for single-use, rechargeable, e-bike, cellphones, and high energy batteries.
Learn more about Lithium Ion batteries and their safe disposal from the EPA.
Loose batteries are batteries sold separately from a product, individually packaged with a product, or designed to be easily removed from a product with no more than common household tools. Products containing loose batteries are not subject to the battery-embedded product fee. For information on loose batteries, visit the Battery Stewardship
Vendors
| Vendor | Address | City | Destination | Method | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVS Pharmacy | 855 El Camino Real | Palo Alto | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Hassett Ace Hardware | 875 Alma Street | Palo Alto | Safe Disposal | Free Drop-off | ||
| Staples (SF - California St) | 300 California St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Sports Basement (San Ramon) | 1041 Market Place | San Ramon | Recycle | Free Drop-off | No lithium batteries | |
| Bill's Ace Hardware | 4451 Clayton Rd. | Concord | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Oakland Public Library (Martin Luther King Jr. Branch) | 6833 International Blvd | Oakland | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Tape battery terminals. | |
| Pagano's Ace Hardware | 2298 South Shore Center | Alameda | Recycle | Free Drop-off | No large quantities. | |
| Alameda Free Library & Seed & Tool Library | 1550 Oak St | Alameda | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Collection by the copier. Tape ends of batteries. | |
| Walgreens | 499 Haight St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 2550 Ocean Ave. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Walgreens | 1344 Stockton St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Recology SF Household Hazardous Waste Facility | 501 Tunnel Ave. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Limit of 15 gallons or 125 pounds per day of all household hazardous waste. San Francisco residents only. Address verification required. Open Thursday-Saturday only from 8am-4pm. | |
| Cliff's Variety | 479 Castro St. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Alameda County Business Hazardous Waste Drop-in Program (Oakland Facility) | 2100 East 7th Street | Oakland | Recycle | Drop-off for a Fee | Lithium batteries must have terminals insulated | |
| Staples (SF - Van Ness) | 1700 Van Ness Ave. | San Francisco | Recycle | Free Drop-off | ||
| Sports Basement (Walnut Creek) | 1881 Ygnacio Valley Rd | Walnut Creek | Recycle | Free Drop-off | No lithium batteries | |
| West Contra Costa Battery Recycling Program (WCCIWMA) | San Pablo | Recycle | Free Drop-off | |||
| Oakland Public Library (West Oakland Branch) | 1801 Adeline St | Oakland | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Tape battery terminals. | |
| Alameda County Household Hazardous Waste Program (Oakland Facility) | 2100 East 7th Street | Oakland | Recycle | Free Drop-off | Note: Swollen Li-ion batteries accepted. If it’s leaking, contact hhw@acgov.org. | |
| Alameda Municipal Power | 2000 Grand St | Alameda | Recycle | Free Drop-off | No large quantities. |
Curbside Service
| Special Action | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda |
Residents may place household batteries (A, AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt) in a sealed, clear zipper-style plastic bag and put it on top of (not inside) the recyclable materials cart. Please tape terminals on batteries. (No car batteries allowed.) ### |
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| Albany |
Put batteries in a clear plastic bag, seal it shut and place on the top of the recyclables cart. ### |
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| Berkeley | |||
| Castro Valley Sanitary District |
Single-family and multi-family residents with blue recycling cart service may participate in CVSan’s curbside battery recycling program by placing used dry cell batteries (household batteries such as AAA, AA, B, C, D, 9V, and small “button” batteries) in a sealed clear plastic bag on top of your blue recycling cart on your service day. No automotive, lithium-ion or liquid batteries are accepted. Please tape terminals on 9-volt batteries. ### |
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| Dublin |
Single Family Residents. Place used batteries on top of your recycle cart in a clear plastic bag. ### |
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| Emeryville |
Emeryville accepts this item for curbside pickup, but don't put them in your carts or bins. Cart customers: put in a clear, sealed bag and place on lid of recycling cart. Always tape ends of batteries to avoid contact. If your location has bins instead of carts, Property Managers can order mail-back collection containers by calling 510-613-8700. ### |
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| Fremont | |||
| Hayward |
Single Family Service - Household batteries can be put into a sealed clear bag & placed next to the Recycling cart on collection day. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. ### |
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| Hayward (Oro Loma - L2) |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| Livermore |
Single Family Service - Household batteries can be put into a sealed clear bag & placed on top of the Recycling cart on collection day. Please tape over lithium battery contacts. ### |
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| Newark |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| Oakland |
Residents. Put household dry-cell batteries in a clear, sealed bag on top of recycling cart by 6am on your regular recycling pickup date. Always tape ends of batteries to avoid contact. Bag button-cell and NiCd batteries in a bag separate from alkaline batteries. Do not include rechargeable batteries. ### |
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| Piedmont |
Place in Ziploc bag on top of the recycling cart. Also accepted at the Piedmont Fire Station for recycling. ### |
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| Pleasanton |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart. No rechargeable batteries allowed (ex. lithium ion). ### |
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| San Leandro |
Bag batteries in clear bag and put on top of Recycling cart. ### |
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| San Leandro (Oro Loma - L3) |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| San Lorenzo (Oro Loma) |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| Unincorporated Oro Loma (L1) |
Single Family Service - Place in zip loc bag on top of recycling cart ### |
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| Union City |
Single Family & Parcelized Multifamily Dwellings: Put in clear, sealed bag next to recycling cart. ### |
